Russian ruble becomes only valid currency in Crimea

The Russian ruble has officially become the only valid currency in Crimea, with the Ukrainian hryvnia being given the status of a foreign currency. The move is another step toward closer integration with Russia.

From June 1 all
settlements and payouts in the peninsula, including salaries,
pensions and social benefits will be done in Russian rubles,
Vedomosti says citing the Central Bank of Russia (CBR).

"The exchange of hryvnia to ruble will be at the rate set by
the credit organizations, operating in the Republic of
Crimea," says a statement from the Ministry of Economic
Development and Trade of the Republic of Crimea.

Initially it was planned to have both currencies circulating in Crimea till
January 1, 2016, but last week Russian President Vladimir Putin
signed a document to speed up the change June 1, 2014.

The urgency was needed to free people in Crimea from the
inconvenience of double pricing, CBR says.

Russian officials say there are no problems with rubles in
Crimea, with the peninsula’s head of Government Rustam
Temirgaliev saying there was enough rubles for all of Crimea’s
needs.